Multi-level facilities typically include stairs, escalators, ramps, and/or other similar walkways to allow people to travel between different levels of the facility. In some cases, these walkways can be extremely long, some of which may have lengths exceeding 100 feet. During emergency conditions, escalators typically do not receive power to continue their normal operation, which means that the convenience of using escalators for easy travel is lost. Accordingly, emergency personnel cannot rely on escalators to transport injured persons. While escalators may still be usable as stairs under these conditions, it can become difficult for emergency personnel to evacuate injured persons via long stretches of stairs or other similar walkways. In addition, having emergency personnel carry injured persons up stairs typically requires additional personnel that could be used elsewhere to help other injured persons.
The present inventors have determined that it would be desirable to provide a system for easily transporting injured persons up escalators, stairs, or similar walkways, while also limiting the personnel required to operate the system. Additional aspects and advantages of such a transport system will be apparent from the following detailed description of example embodiments, which proceed with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Understanding that the drawings depict only certain embodiments and are not, therefore, to be considered limiting in nature, these embodiments will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with reference to the drawings.